Sample Powerlifting Template

Introduction

The Westside Barbell program is the brainchild of powerlifter
and strength coach Louie
Simmons. The program's principles are borrowing from Soviet
and Bulgarian weightlifting training techniques and ingeniously
adapted to powerlifting. The Westside Barbell philosophy challenges
popular beliefs about the way we think, how a strength training
program should be structured and implemented.

The efficacy of the program is validated by the success and
continued progress of the athletes training under Coach Simmon's.
Westside Barbell in Columbus, Ohio is the only gym in the world
to have two powerlifters with
over 2700 pound totals, five over 2800 pounds, and one who has
the biggest total of all time at 3005 lbs.

Dave Tate continues to be Westside's most well known and outspoken
disciple, although he now operates his own training facility.
Tate was an established elite powerlifter and who studied Exercise
Physiology in college. He was initially skeptic of the Westside
Barbell program, as so many are - until his totals went up 300
pounds and his squat went from 750 pounds to 900 pounds!

"That's when I realized that the last 15 years of
my training and education were bullshit. All the classes I took,
the seminars I attended, the coaches I spoke to, and my time
in the gym made me educated, but it didn't make me the expert
I thought I was. What it did do was put me in a position to really
learn my trade. My education was about to begin."

Overview

The Westside method incorporates 4 workouts per week, training:

Upper body and bench press related exercises in one day

Lower body, including squat and deadlift related exercises
the another day.

on the main lift(s) which are trained with a large number
of sets (9-12 sets) and very few reps (1-3 reps)

utilizing 40-60% of 1RM in addition to 25-30%1RM load from
accommodating resistance

accommodation resistance involves increasing the resistance
as the movement progresses towards completion by use of chains
or anchored bands attached to the barbell.

Repetition method

After the main lift(s) on both Maximum Effort and Dynamic
Effort days, accessory exercises are performed with more conventional
loads (Repetition Method) mostly utilizing 2-4 set of 6-10 repetitions.

Every fourth week, 'Maximum Effort' work on main movements
is replaced by 'Repetition' work for restoration

Maximum Effort and Dynamic Effort workloads on the Main Lifts
are alternated within 72 hours of each other.

Exercises

Westside Barbell implements Conjugate
System where exercises are cycle frequently, depending on
experience level. Exercises or variations are changed every 3
weeks for intermediate trainees and every week for the elite
lifter.

To train the 3 powerlifts, Westside tends to rely heavily
on dozens of subtle variations of the Main Movements:

Conjugate System and Exercise Selection

Westside Barbell implements Conjugate System where different
exercises or exercise variations are performed every 3 week and
every week for the elite lifter. Exercises should not be reused
until after 4-6 weeks. Performing an exercise at 90% of 1RM for
more than 3 weeks will result in accommodation and digression
in strength.

Base Movement: new exercise or exercise variation every week,
exercise not reintroduced until at least 4-6 weeks

When you do go back, attempt to break your previous 1-3 RM
personal record

Auxiliary exercises: perform different exercises every 1-3
weeks.

Changing exercises is thought to prevent accommodation.
Exercise variations can be slight and resemble or emphasize movements
of the main powerlifting movements. A variation can be as simple
as a varying an exercise's range of motion, grip, or stance.
Most at Westside gym (elite lifters) will alternate between a
full range movement one week and a partial range motion the next
workout. Switching to different exercises is generally more effective
than switching to a variation of the same exercise. In other
words, if you had been performing a Goodmorning, it is far better
to switch to a squat or deadlift, rather than to switch to better
another type of goodmorning.

The specific exercise selections or variations can either
be planned ahead of the workout or selected spontaneously following
a planned template. Auxiliary lifts should address known weaknesses
and stabilizing muscles. Emphasis in max effort and dynamic lifts
should also address relative weaknesses in strength or speed
respectively.

20% of the work consists of Squat, Deadlift, and Bench Press.
The other 80% of the work is accessory work designed to prepare
for that 20%. Emphasis is placed on the Box Squat (sometimes
to the near exclusion of squats), and Bench Press as basic movements.
Good Mornings and Reverse Hyperextensions are emphasized as accessory
work.

Adapting Westside to Fit Your Needs

The Westside program was originally designed for advanced
powerlifters (lifting with powerlifting gear). If you don't have
at least a couple years of consistent training under your belt,
start with a basic weight training program to build your foundation
and exercise form with traditional workloads (see Basic
Weight Training Guidelines). Intermediate trainees could
consider adapting the program by incorporating less sets.

Since the Westside program trains both strength and power,
it could be adapted for a variety of sports requiring enhancement
of those fitness components. The Westside program is an alternative
to more traditional periodization protocols, allowing the powerlifter
or athlete to be able to compete at a moments notice in as little
time as it takes to taper. See Westside
Pre-Competition Taper.

If you are not a competitive powerlifter, but would like to
adapt this program for sports conditioning, choose lifts conducive
to the conditioning requirements of your specific sports and
customize the program accordingly. Minimize the number of accessory
exercises performed in a single workout unless you have an unusually
high ability to recover between workouts. Likewise, minimize
unnecessary sports conditioning work outside the weight room.
See Common Training
Mistakes and Concurrent
Training.